goals

It's a blessing and a curse to work from home or as a freelancer. On the plus side, you're not expected to fit into the prefab 9-to-5 box. Unfortunately, that means you have to create the whole day from scratch. For some, this is divine freedom. For others, it's a lot of free-floating time to eff up.

The secret to a successful work schedule is to know thyself.

The Seeker's Approach to the Work Schedule

The very notion of "time management" makes some of us want to rebel. It sounds restrictive — which anyone who has been on a crazy diet knows is a recipe for disaster. Rather than start color-coding a planner in blocks, artist and writer Laureen Marchand, says making a work schedule that works for you is about asking questions:

  • What do you want?
  • What's important?
  • What's important enough so you can commit to it?
  • Do I have goals? If so, what are they? If not, should I develop some?
  • What do I want to change?

"Remember, there are no wrong answers," she suggests. "What's right for you is right. But you're more likely to know what's right for you if you ask the questions."

For Marchand, these questions boiled down to values that could guide her days: "Almost daily time for the work that matters most to me. Enough money so I don't have to think about it. Recognition. Connection. Possibility."

The Structure-Is-Freedom Work Schedule

Some people, like Mark Wahlberg, like to schedule every hour of the day. For those who thrive in conditions of ultimate order, hand the job of taskmaster over to Google Calendar or the scheduling function of your choice. Rather than only putting in meetings, doctor's appointments, and the occasional lunch date, create a calendar that is your Daily Routine, suggests Whitson Gordon on Lifehacker.

Set up recurring events with pop-up reminders on your computer and cell phone that will remind you to shift gears. And here's the trick: When you get that pop-up to "Eat Lunch," "Yoga with Alison," "Draft Grant Proposal," drop everything and actually do it.

"Take these events seriously, and respect the calendar, and you'll find your routine becomes much easier to stick to," Whitson writes. "The key here is to set up the calendar and stick to it. Be serious about following to it. It's okay to 'boss yourself around' with this calendar. You're making these appointments with yourself b/c this is the way you want your life to be, so respect that. Don't put yourself at the bottom of all your other priorities/responsibilities. This calendar is here to remind you of that."

Create a window of time for revolving but endless errands and admin, so that you have time each day to go to the post office/drop bike off for a tune-up/call the insurance company.

"It may seem like overkill at first," writes Whitson. "Like you're scheduling every second of every day like a crazy person, but once you get it all set up, it won't seem so bad. Again, the idea isn't to interrupt your important work, just to send you little blips that remind you to shut down the distractions and get your daily routine back on track."

Know your own rhythms

Do you work best in short increments? Or will a long chunk of quiet and solitude lead to better productivity? Will getting email out of the way free up brain space for more innovative and big picture work? Or is that a form of procrastination for the real intellectual heavylifting your job requires. Again, know thyself. And then create the boundaries in your schedule that set you up for success.

We All Have the Same 24 Hours. What Can You Do With Yours?

There are real obstacles to getting our work done — childcare, meal planning, the whole great wide Internet. Feeling like we don't have enough time is such a constant many of us have adopted it as our mantra. There's never enough time!

"Of course, you don't have enough time! Who does? But then again, do you really not have enough time?" asks Laureen Marchand. "Or is it that you have lots of time and you aren't using it for what's important to you? Is your time taken with things that used to be matter but don't so much now? Are you busy doing things you don't really want to do? How can you do less of what you don't want and more of what you do?"

Rethink "Enough"

Defining what is enough for you — and "for you" are the operative words — means learning to silence what Jennifer Louden calls the "Hounds of More, More, More," who have endless suggestions for how to live well.

"Improve yourself! Make more money! Be more awesome! Rise to the top! More, more, mooooooooorrrrreeeee!"

The hounds also love to mess with your routine, yammering:

"Meditate first thing in the morning! No, I meant start with yoga! No, you should go to the gym! But it's summer so walk in nature! No, I meant writing, working on your side gig/sketching!"

It's exhausting. Why? Because the Hounds of More are concerned with illusory perfection, Louden writes, and are never satisfied.

But building a sense of personal satisfaction and accomplishment into your day is essential for creating momentum in a routine. Louden's Conditions for Enoughness help create finite and measurable action plans so that you can declare you did enough at the end of each day — even if you don't feel like you did.

Know your No's and Yes'es

We'll quote the master, here. As Steven R. Covey, author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People put it:

You have to decide what your highest priorities are and have the courage—pleasantly, smilingly, non-apologetically, to say "no" to other things. And the way you do that is by having a bigger "yes" burning inside.

But how do you say no when we've been taught that abundance in all things is about saying yes?

"One thing that helps in this process of choosing a bigger yes is knowing that you do not have to choose one 'big yes' thing forever; you simply have to choose what you want to focus on for now," writes Melissa Dinwiddie, who says that all time management problems are really priority management problems. "In other words, 'no' does not have to mean 'never;' it can mean 'not right now.'"

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Success comes to those who work at it. Sure, a handful of folks will get lucky and strike gold without lifting more than a finger, but for the most part, to achieve, one must put in the effort. This takes time, planning, and a special kind of work ethic, along with a go-getter, never-fail attitude.

We are going fromA – Z with tips and advice to help a success-driven individual to reach their goals in the workplace. As we move along to P, Q, and R, there are three more ways to find success with persistence, quick thinking, and valuable relationships.

Persistence

The path to success will rarely, if ever, be a straight line. Roadblocks, twists and turns, and setbacks will all be part of the journey. Giving up at the first sign of struggle is a surefire way to never make it anywhere near the rich reward of success. Persistence keeps strong people pushing, fighting odds, and overcoming obstacles.

As per Erupting Mind, "Those who are able to keep going through periods of adversity stand a much better chance of achieving something of real meaning and value in their life. You must be willing to stick with something for the long-term and avoid the tendency to view things from a short-term perspective."

Endure the hardships, resolve to work through challenges, and remain constant in your desire to succeed. Those who push themselves the hardest propel the highest.

Quick Thinking

When money and time are of the essence, which is the norm in a workplace scenario, thinking on one's feet is imperative. The person who flip-flops or is poor at decision-making can fall behind in their work and miss out on opportunities that may not come back around again.

According toIllumine, "Whether you end up on the spot while presenting a proposal, attending a meeting, or selling an idea to customers, learning to articulate your thoughts in unforeseen situations is a valuable skill. The ability to think rapidly whilst on your feet is a skill that is in very high demand in the business world. Once you have learned to master it, your sharp and relevant responses will immediately instill confidence in what you are saying."

Dell EMC adds, "There's only one combination of speed and intelligence that can bring sustainable success and that is to be both quick and clever." Quick thinking is only beneficial if the ideas are smart and useful. So along with being on the ball comes business knowledge and that "gut feeling" that assures you that you're making decisions that will benefit your role and the company as a whole.

Relationships

They say it's lonely at the top, but it doesn't have to be. Success shared with co-workers, clients, customers, etc. makes "the more, the merrier" a far better way to celebrate the fruits of hard work.

As per Entrepreneur, "Every successful executive and entrepreneur will tell you, their most important asset is their network, and they don't mean social network. They mean people they actually know and work with in real time because they're the ones that actually get things done."

Good relationships are not only personally fulfilling, but they can help a business thrive. As perMy Top Business Ideas, "If you are kind, courteous, and attentive to your customers, employees, and business associates, you will establish a good reputation for your business. And people will deem you and your business as trustworthy and experienced."

For tips on ways to build meaningful business relationships, Forbes offers sage advice that anyone can benefit from.

Stay tuned for the next installment in our A – Z series. Success gets closer with every letter!

What does success mean to you? Do you immediately think of how your life will look once you're "successful"? Oftentimes, when we think about success we think about all the positive side effects we hope will come with that success, like a comfortable salary, being an expert in our industry, or perhaps riches and fame. But rarely do I hear people talking about what they plan to sacrifice in order to reach that goal.

What if we reframed the narrative and instead focused on the sacrifices we're willing to endure to become our version of successful?

What are you willing to give up to get to where you want to be?

If you want to be wealthy and have a comfortable savings, then you may need to work in a field that generates a high income. You'll also need to understand how to be good with money and effectively invest those hard-earned paychecks. If being an expert in your chosen field signifies success to you, then you need to become an expert. That sounds pretty straightforward, but becoming an expert takes dedicated time and energy. So striving for success is not solely about the end goal, but about what you're willing to give up to get closer to that end.

Delayed gratification vs. instant gratification

Then there's the significance of patience and knowing that success takes time. It may be human nature to want to reap the rewards immediately, but in order to gain long-term success we must learn be comfortable with delayed gratification. For example, that could mean putting off spending money on things we want now so that our future self will have more money for long-term investments later. This goes back to the classic Marshmallow Test that set out to prove the correlation between delaying what we want in order to earn two-fold in the future.

The power of choosing your problems

In Mark Manson's acclaimed book, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck, Manson explains that there will always be problems, so what problem would you like to have? He states, "Life is essentially an endless series of problems. The solution to one problem is merely the creation of another." He argues that what makes us human and gives us a sense of purpose is the desire to solve problems. If living a fulfilled life means overcoming problems, what type of problems would you choose to have in your life?

Most people know, on some level, that sacrifices must be made to achieve success. But it's a lot easier said than done. As soon as you shift your focus from the end result to viewing success as a lifelong process, you'll better understand what must be sacrificed along the way. Ultimately, success and sacrifice are personal questions that must be reflected upon by each individual. What are you willing to give up to get what you want?

Success in the workplace is what we all want to achieve, but getting there requires stamina, strength, and smarts, among a slew of other behaviors and attributes to reach our goals and then some.

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